1st Edition
Routledge Handbook of African Borderlands
The Routledge Handbook of African Borderlands provides a comprehensive analysis of the factors shaping the past, present and future of African borderlands, in all their complexity.
Since precolonial times, African borderlands have served as sites of both prosperity and conflict. In the twenty-first century, many African countries have simultaneously seen an increase in trade and regional integration activities, whilst trying to control deteriorating security conditions in border areas. This book explores these tensions, and considers how borderlands have impacted the economy, political stability, and social cohesion of African states. The book discusses the key conceptual debates related with the establishment of modern boundaries since precolonial times, as well as the methodological challenges associated with conducting research at the margins of the state.
This important interdisciplinary and continent-wide investigation of African border dynamics will be an essential read for researchers across the fields of political science, geography, history, anthropology, international law, and development studies.
Section 1. Concepts and methods.
Editor: Olivier Walther
Chapter 1. An introduction to African borderlands.
Olivier Walther, Inocent Moyo and Isabella Soi
Chapter 2. History and historiography of African borderlands studies.
Anthony I. Asiwaju
Chapter 3. Mapping African borderlands.
Olivier Walther, Hugh Lamarque and Thomas Cantens
Chapter 4. Doing ethnography in African borderlands.
Gregor Dobler
Chapter 5. Quantifying cross-border trade in Africa.
Charles Kunaka and Gaël Raballand
Chapter 6. African borders as resources.
Markus Virgil Hoehne and Dereje Feyissa
Section 2. Borderlands in African history.
Editor: Isabella Soi
Chapter 7. Colonial partition in Africa.
Franceso Moze
Chapter 8. Myth of border formation in colonial Africa.
Jack Paine, Xiaoyan Qiu and Joan Ricart-Huguet
Chapter 9. Making African borders from below.
Paul Nugent
Chapter 10. Borders and urbanisation in colonial Africa.
Miles Larmer
Chapter 11. Maritime borders in Africa.
Dirk Siebels
Section 3. Economic perspectives.
Editor: Olivier Walther
Chapter 12. Regional economic integration in Africa.
Bruce Byiers
Chapter 13. Informal cross-border trade in Africa.
Peter D. Little
Chapter 14. Smuggling and trafficking in Africa.
Thomas Hüsken
Chapter 15. Border markets in Africa.
Martin Doevenspeck and Kamal Donko
Chapter 16. Border cities in Africa.
Olivier Walther, Isabella Soi and Paul Nugent
Chapter 17. Agro-pastoralists in African borderlands.
Abubakar Samaila and Umar Ahmed
Section 4. Political issues.
Editor: Olivier Walther
Chapter 18. Secessionism and irredentism in Africa.
Lotje de Vries and Mareike Schomerus
Chapter 19. Post-colonial African border disputes.
Lindsay Scorgie
Chapter 20. Transnational violence and terrorism in Africa.
David G. Russell and Olivier Walther
Chapter 21. African borderland violence in comparative perspective.
William F. S. Miles
Chapter 22. Border technologies, mobility and trade facilitation in Africa.
Ngozi L. Uzomah
Section 5. Social perspectives.
Editor: Inocent Moyo
Chapter 23. Contemporary migration in Africa.
Philippe M. Frowd
Chapter 24. Health, HIV/AIDS and pandemic in African borderlands.
Olukayode A. Faleye and Oladotun E. Awosusi
Chapter 25. Gendered dynamics in African borderlands.
Stephanie Cawood and Munyaradzi Mushonga
Chapter 26. Border festivals in Africa.
Edem Adotey
Chapter 27. Climate mobilities and adaptation in African borderlands.
Jabulile Mzimela and Inocent Moyo
Section 6. Policy perspectives.
Editor: Olivier Walther
Chapter 28. The African Union perspective on border governance: Policy and practices.
Mohamadou Abdoul, Haifa Aboubaker, Bakary Sanou and Sarah Serawitu
Chapter 29. OECD/SWAC’s support to cross-border co-operation in West Africa.
Jennifer Sheahan and Marie Trémolières
Chapter 30. Switzerland’s contribution to promoting cross-border cooperation in West Africa.
François Laurent and Abdel Kader Dicko
Biography
Dr. Olivier Walther is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Florida, United States. His research focusses on cross-border trade and transnational armed conflicts in Africa.
Dr. Inocent Moyo is Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and Deputy Dean of Research, Innovation, and Internationalisation at the University of Zululand, South Africa. He researches borders, migration, and the political economy of the informal economy in the Southern African region.
Dr. Isabella Soi is Associate Professor in African Studies at the Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. Her research focuses on border issues, refugee movements, and religious and national minorities in Africa, particularly in Uganda.
